Herts Excellence Award

Turn your experience into recognition

The Herts Excellence Award is a career and enterprise award designed to help you recognise and showcase everything you achieve alongside your degree. Whether you’re working, volunteering, or run your own business, it helps you bring it all together into something that sets you apart.

At Herts, you’ll find countless ways to develop your skills and grow your confidence. The Herts Excellence Award gives you a structured framework to build experience, reflect on what you’re learning, and communicate it clearly to employers or investors.

Through a series of tailored activities and guidance, you’ll create a personalised career or business plan and gain the tools to market yourself professionally. The award develops your employability and entrepreneurial skills, while building your ability to present yourself effectively.

When you complete the award, you’ll earn a digital badge and certificate, which you can display on your LinkedIn profile, CV, or include in your professional portfolio, showcasing your initiative and potential. Open to all students, the award helps you graduate with a clear narrative of your achievements and where you’re heading.

Two students working with electric models

What you’ll do

The award follows a clear structure designed to help you get the most from your experience. Participants take part in workshops and development activities, finishing with a presentation that showcases personal and professional growth.

You’ll begin by mapping out your goals, developing a career or enterprise plan that reflects your ambitions and sets a clear direction for your journey. From there, you’ll complete at least 250 hours of workbased experience – whether through parttime employment, volunteering, an internship or an apprenticeship – giving you the chance to build confidence and strengthen your CV.

Alongside this, you’ll take part in activities tailored to your interests and future aspirations, steadily building the skills you’ll need for the next stage of your career. The award concludes with a creative reflection, such as a poster, video or presentation, that brings together everything you’ve learned and gives you a meaningful opportunity to showcase how far you’ve come.

What you’ll gain

The Herts Excellence Award helps you make sense of everything you're achieving alongside your studies. It turns part-time jobs, volunteering, enterprise projects, and extracurriculars into a clear story of growth. Each step is designed to build confidence and prepare you for life after university. By completing the award, you will stand out with a professional edge and a clear sense of direction for your future.

Stand out to employers

Earn an award that highlights your skills and experience.

Graduate with direction

Leave with a clear plan, confidence, and a story that sets you apart.

Simplify your journey

Bring all your experience together into one clear and structured pathway.

Build confidence that lasts

Understand your strengths and learn how to talk about them with confidence.